1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for editing digital moving-picture data and a method of editing digital moving-picture data. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of displaying a motion-picture editing field.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, digital video cameras have found a broad use, and the digital broadcasting has been promoted. Much attention is now paid to apparatuses for use in not only broadcasting stations but also users' homes, which edit digital image data representing moving pictures. Generally, a moving-picture data editing apparatus comprises hardware and software. The hardware includes a personal computer and a digital video camera, each having an interface for inputting and outputting data. The software includes a data-editing program.
A moving picture is displayed when frames, or still pictures, are sequentially displayed at a prescribed rate. In other words, a moving picture is composed of a number of frames. The frame rate is usually the number of frames sequentially displayed per second. In the television broadcasting, for example, 30 frames per second (30 fps). A moving picture is thereby displayed on the TV screen.
Each moving-picture editing apparatus has a display (monitor). The display can display the frames of any moving picture. This enables the user to delete some frames, replace some frames with other frames and add some frames, thereby to edit the moving picture. To edit the moving picture at a high efficiency, the frames should be displayed in desired ways.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 10-285532 discloses a moving-picture editing apparatus that displays the frames of a moving picture in a reduced size. Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-23520 discloses a moving-picture editing apparatus that displays moving-picture frames in a reduced size, in M rows and N columns on the display screen.
With the apparatus of Publication No. 10-285532, however, the user cannot always edit moving pictures at high efficiency, because the apparatus displays the frames in only one column. With the apparatus of Publication No. 8-23520 that displays frames in M rows and N columns, the user can indeed edit moving pictures more efficiently than with the apparatus of Publication No. 10-285532. With the apparatus of Publication No. 8-23520, however, it is impossible for the user to perceive the display unit time based on the frame rate (i.e., frames per unit time). The display unit time is important in editing moving pictures. In view of this, the frames constituting a moving picture should be displayed in such a manner as to enable the user to perceive the display unit time.